Memories of Twilight
by Twilii
Summary: Several months after returning to Ordona, Link is still mourning over the loss of a certain Twilight Princess. Now the headstrong, goodspirited Link is gone, replaced by a bitter outer shell. Can a childhood friend bring the old Link back? IliaxLink


**Disclaimer**- I don't own Zelda in any way, shape, or form.

**Note**- I loved the game, Zelda Twilight Princess. As soon as I beat it, I knew I had to make a fanfiction for it. This is a Ilia/Link fanfic, may get a little on the fluffy side, but nothing graphic. This is my first Zelda fic, so, I hope you enjoy reading it.

**Warning**- This may contain spoilers for those of you who have not played/not completed The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

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**_Chapter 1:_**

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"_Link…you'll come with me, won't you?" The small imp murmured, stroking the young man's face. He gazed back in her bright eyes, honesty in his own, as he smiled softly. The wind blew his hair out of his face. He bent a little closer to her, cobalt orbs shining with happiness. The strong breeze whipped sand quickly past them, before settling down back on the desert's surface, the man leaned a little closer._

"_Of course I will."_

_-----_

"**Link!" **Fado cried across the pasture, to a fellow blonde haired farmhand who resided on the other side. The sudden noise caused him to snap out of his ever-more frequent daydreaming. He sighed, and turned to face his friend, who held a worried expression.

"**That's the 4****th**** time I've called your name, boy."** Fado said, shaking his head, as he approached the other farmhand. His boots shuffled across the grass, as he wiped the stinging sweat from his eyes.

"**Sorry sir, I didn't sleep well last night, and it's coming back to bite me, I guess. It won't happen again." **said Link. He averted his gaze to the ground, suspiciously quickly, forcing himself to look at the grass. He wasn't comfortable with lying, and rather not, but it would be even more uncomfortable talking about what was really troubling him. Some things were best left unmentioned. Head still down, he shifted his eyes toward the grass that was swaying on by the fence, and two baby goats butting each other. Link watched as one stumbled and fell.

"**Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it. You wouldn't get in trouble for somethin' like that, you're a great working help around here."** The older man stood there chuckling to himself, watching the boy's blank expression facing the ground. He stood there for a moment, the laughter fading before noting,

"**It's about around time for you to take a break, boy. Sun's about that high." **Fado looked up toward the sky, shielding his eyes with the back of his hand. He was squinting, the wrinkles in his wind worn face crinkling in the corners of his eyes as he did so. Fado placed his had back down at his sides and turned away from the sun.

He grunted as he sat down on the grass, checking behind him, before landing with a small thud. "**Why don't you go ahead and take the rest of the day off? We're almost done with work for the day."**

Link lifted his head, his eyebrows raised in surprise. This was very unlike his boss, Fado, to give him a little slack, especially when he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary to earn it.

"**Are you sure, sir?"**

Fado wiped the sweat from his brow again, before turning back and staring the youth in the eyes. Fado's pupils held an honest worry, and also an angry one. The intensity relaxed, and Fado sighed.

"**Link… take the day off."**

The seriousness of Fado's tone of voice startled him. Link stepped back, pausing, before glancing at the barn.

"**Thank you very much sir."** Link bowed, and turned to trot off toward the stalls where he had left his over shirt. He had taken it off around midmorning, due to the heat. He walked under the barn's shaded shelter, where it lay, dust clouds forming dirtying his already grass stained calves and knees. The shirt lay slung over the wooden door of a single stall, and he grabbed it. As he turned, something caught the corner of his vision. He looked down, and noticed his reflection in a water trough a mere few inches away. He face fell, and his eyes stared deep into the smooth, glasslike surface of the water. He saw dirty blonde hair, a dirty face, and shadows of purple under his eyes. He frowned as he stared back into those eyes. They were dead. He grimaced. People noticed the lifelessness of him now, and he could sense the…changing aura about them. Link's eyes burned into the eyes of his reflection, eyebrows furrowed, entranced in thought. The bay of a ram brought him back once again to reality. He sighed, the dull glaze pooling back into those sad blue orbs that had just previously burned with an intense look of determination and dedication. He turned, filled with self frustration, before walking back out of the barn. The cool shade of the barn melted into the blistering heat of the sun. It was well into mid- afternoon.

He headed toward the entrance of the ranch, waving to Fado. He returned the wave, before once again calling across the field.

"**Don't you worry 'bout a thing! I'll just lock up the herd, and I'll be on my way too. Go home!"** Fado still sat on the grass, a goat giving him a nudge in the back. Link gave an empty smile, as he opened the gate.

"**Get some rest!"**

Link closed the gate behind him, and turned to start down the dirt path that headed toward the village in which they called home. He gave a wave over his shoulder, before hearing the fading words of Fado.

"**And take a bath!"**

Link sighed as he disappeared around the bend. Fado strained to get up from his sitting position, with a little help from a walking stick. He took a couple steps, his large worn hands protecting his eyes from the suns' rays. The dust clouds settled where Link's feet had disturbed the dirt path.

"**What's happened to you, boy…?"**

He turned toward the barn, taking a backwards glance at the path, and the tops of houses and waterwheels of the village that lay in the distance. He shook his head, and disappeared into the dark shade of the building.

Link tromped slowly down the steep slope of the path, careful not to lose his step on many of the loose stones that riddled his way. He was nimble, and made his way down the rough terrain with ease. Past adventures had made him strong and agile, but the strength that had not come without heartache.

He soon closed in on the village, and the path widened and became much smoother and easier to walk, and without worrying about falling flat on your face from flaws in the road. He slowed to a gradual stop, and blinked away dirt and dust. He wiped the sweat of his face with the back of his forearm, as his journey's memories flooded to him.

"_Watch where you're going you worthless wolf..! You don't want to kill me too, do you?" The little imp patted the large canine's head, before giving it a scratch behind the ear. The wolf groaned in mock irritation, before glancing back at the creature astride him._

He shook his head again, and trotted down the path. The houses were clearly visible now. He smiled as he saw the children of the village playing in the stream, his younger friend Colin, resting on his knees on the small wooden bridge, was chatting away with Ilia as he pointed into the streams waters. Link stepped onto the bridge, and Colin raised his head in surprise.

"**Link! I was just showing Ilia this school of fish I found."** Both stood up and turned toward him. Ilia smiled. **"Hi Link." **From the other side of the bridge, an angry Talo yelled across the length of the stream. Malo and Beth were at his side.

"**Colin!"**

Colin's expression was that of worry, before turning to Link again. He bowed slightly, and trotted off to join his friends. Seems the "new found respect" for Colin, from Talo and the others, had faded since returning to the village. **"Bye Link! See you."** He waved, and Link returned it, before he turned his attention to Ilia, who was pulling his pants-leg, ushering him to sit down. Link lowered himself on the bridge, dangling his legs over the edge, the bottoms of his feet barely touching the top of the water. Ripples rolled in all directions, and the school of fish scattered away from the intrusion.

"**Were you let off early?" **Ilia asked softly, swinging her legs back and forth over the stream. Her legs weren't quite long enough to touch the water. She was looking down at his and her reflection. He had yet to make eye contact with her. **"Fado cut me some slack today. He gave me the rest of the day off."**

"**That was nice of him."**

"**Yeah."**

It was a straight to the point conversation, awkward, each as quiet as the other. There was a long silence between the two. Lately, tension had been high between the two of them, since a certain blonde farmhand had been avoiding conversation with her, as well as conversation with all the other villagers, and Ilia noticed. The farmhand leaned forward on his palms, neither of the two yet deciding to break the uncomfortable quiet swirling around them.

Link concentrated on the sound of the flowing water, before Ilia cut in.

"**Say Link, do you want to…?" **She stopped herself. She leaned over to look at his face, which was covered with his hair, only his mouth and nose visible from the straw colored mane. Even with his eyes covered, she could tell he was staring down with unblinking eyes, obviously in a whole different world. She pursed her lips, before reaching out and brushing his golden hair out of his face. He raised his head, and looked her in the eyes, the first time in weeks since he arrived back to Ordona. This contact confirmed her suspicions. Link was no longer the Link she used to know. She knew, when he first returned, something happened to him, something that changed him. No more jokes, no more play, no more fun times they used to have together. He broke the contact by swiftly breaking his gaze, anywhere but that penetrating stare. Ilia bit her lower lip, before asking very cautiously,

"**Are you okay?"**

Link gave an aggravated sigh. **"Yes."** He shifted uncomfortably, (even a bit away from his childhood friend). '_I'm fine. _'

Ilia sighed, though a much gentler one than Link's, and shimmied over a little, back closer to him. **"…everyone's worried about you."** She added sadly, before once again moving closer until their shoulders were touching. Link didn't move, but continued staring back into the water. He felt her relax into his shoulder. **"They shouldn't be. I'm fine." **She leaned over, until her face was inches from his. **"It doesn't seem like it. You…"** She paused, before biting her lower lip again.

"**You…don't act the way you used to. You've changed."**

Link shot up angrily, jumping to his feet, up from the bridge. **"It's none of your concern if I've changed or not."** Ilia had struck a cord. Of course he was different, he'd lost something important. Someone important. You don't walk away from something as heartbreaking as that without being _different_. She didn't know about...her. She didn't know how he felt, all she knew was that the gentler, kind Link wasn't in his voice anymore. That's all, what did she expect from him? To pour out his feelings about a lost love, when he knew very well how much she cared about him? That would be impossible.

Ilia glared back angrily, before yelling out in protest,

"**I try to help you, but all you do is push me away!" **Tears started to form in her eyes, and immediately Link regretted his outburst. His tense shoulders slackened, and his expression changed to one of guilt, and stared sadly down at Ilia, who now held her face in her hands.

"**I'm sorry."** Link muttered, ashamed of hurting his friend. They weren't as close as before, but he still cared for her. She had been there for him, and so had he, even if she did have a tendency to push him around. And yell at him. And tell him he smelled bad after work. Even through it all, he strived as hard as possible to get her memory back. He sighed, and retreated back into his mask. He had no right to treat her that way when all she wanted to do was help him. He repeated,

"**Ilia, I'm sorry."**

She wiped her eyes one last time, before lowering them slowly to her sides. Her brow was furrowed, and she looked angry, glaring in no particular direction. They stood like there for a moment, Ilia refused to speak, her eyes a little pink from tearing up. He continued to stare at her. After a moment of deliberation, he decided it would be best to leave her alone for now.

"…**Ilia…I'll see you tomorrow."** He said glumly, hoping that it would get a response. When there wasn't one, he turned to walk up across the bridge, and onward home. He wasn't at all surprised by the way she acted toward him now, how he's been treating her, but he was surprised at himself. Link gave up hope she was going to respond when he was a good ways up the path, and continued on his way. His heart felt heavy.

"**I'm an idiot."** He said to himself, squinting his eyes, and balling his fists inside his pockets.

'**I'll apologize again tomorrow."**

He walked past the village shop, past the pond, and treaded slowly up the hill. At his pace, it was a good twenty minute walk before he reached the gate, and the tiny meadow where his house resided. The blonde glanced around for his faithful steed, which was usually waiting for him after the day was over. She was over beside his house, grazing on some of the taller grass. He walked past and gave her a nice scratch behind the ear, which she welcomed happily.

'_I don't think she likes me.' The small creature muttered, sitting in between a certain hero's legs as they galloped across Hyrule towards castle town. The horses' ears were laid back in mute irritation, as the little imp attempted to be friendly with it. She scowled, one small fang protruding over her bottom lip. It felt nice to be out of the hero's shadow, now that she could stay in the World of Light without killing herself. Especially nice at the moment, since she was sitting between her hero's legs._

'_She likes you fine.' _

Link shook his head, gritted his teeth, and trotted off toward the forest spring.

-----

Link crouched in the cool water, which was just up to his chin. His light hair was dripping wet, and plastered to his face. The defined muscles of his shoulders and biceps were visible, tan and bronze from working so many days and hours in the sun. He was clean, and even better, refreshed, his muscles unwinding from the stress of the day. His clothes lay in a messy pile on the short grass by the spring, thrown off in a hurry. The sun was just setting, the red-orange light filtering through the trees, forming an eerie glow in the forest spring meadow. He sighed, and raised himself up, until the water stopped a few inches below his navel. The air was warm, and he looked toward the sky with lazy daze. There was a few sparse clouds here and there, glowing a yellowish orange from the final rays of the sun.

The end of the day, the sun bidding its farewell to the sky, and slipping away under its dark blanket… as the moon and the stars began to creep into view as they greeted the night.

Twilight.

Link had grown to love the twilight. He thought it was beautiful, and brought about a time of thinking and thoughts of change…and thoughts of memories. Memories. It's odd how occurrences from your past could affect your future, affect your present. Some were often happy, from his childhood with his friends, with Ilia, when the only thing he had to worry about was what he planned to do the next day. But some memories were painful too, such as a loss.

Although he loved the twilight, along with its colorful beauty, it brought an intense pain with it, the memories of _her._

_Twilight Princess_, _Midna._

He had fallen in love with her, and that love was now lost. She had vanished into the Mirror of Twilight, not before shattering it, gone forever into the World of Twilight. She had an obligation to fulfill to her people, he understood that, but it hurt all the same. He didn't resent her for leaving, it was her duty as the Twilight Princess. There was nothing else connecting their worlds now, except a shred of hope on Link's part, and a pain etched deep inside him. What hurt the deepest, he never got a chance to tell her how he felt. Maybe it would have been easier if she had just rejected him.

Link stared into the water. Daydreaming of those precious days he had taken for granted, the days he got to spend with Midna. There was so many he wished he could relive.

But he couldn't. Life didn't work that way.

He sighed, glancing down at the exact copy himself in the liquid crystal he was standing in.

"**I don't even look the same."** He uttered apathetically. His face held no expression.

His personality had changed since he had come home, exhausted with a hint of pride in his features. He refused to show his sadness to anyone, even his best friend, even if it meant replacing it with a hard outer shell. He stood there for a moment, before deciding he was through. The last thing the hero wanted was someone walking in the forest spring before he had a chance to get dressed. He stood up completely to wade out of the shallow spring, when suddenly a thought flashed across his mind, a quote from a good friend.

'…_shadow and light….two sides of the same coin.'_

Princess Zelda had said that to him, a few short hours after defeating the incarnation of evil itself, Ganondorf.

The soft-spoken young man stood silent, the only sound was the noise of the waterfall, and the crickets chirping in the grass. His hand barely touching the surface of the water, he moved it across in front of him, as if smoothing a bed sheet. The gentle ripples rolled across the clear blue water. He bit his lower lip.

'_I feel as if I've lost my shadow.'_


End file.
